Honour Moderations in Classics

A

The subjects of the examination shall be as prescribed by regulation from time to time by the Board of the Faculty of Classics and the Board of the Faculty of Philosophy.

B

[For students starting before MT 2015: Candidates shall take one of the following courses: IA, IB, IC, IIA, IIB.

Any candidate whose native language is not English may bring a bilingual (native language to English) dictionary for use in any examination paper where candidates are required to translate Ancient Greek and/or Latin texts into English.

COURSE IA

The examination will consist of the following papers.

I. Homer,Iliad

One paper (3 hours) of translation and questions. Compulsory passages for translation and commentary will be set from Iliad I-IX and XVI-XXIV. Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of the whole poem. They will also be required to scan a short passage.

II. Virgil, Aeneid

One paper (3 hours) of translation and questions. Compulsory passages for translation and commentary will be set from Aeneid I-VI and XII. Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of the whole poem. They will also be required to scan a short passage.

III, IV. Texts and Contexts

An essay paper and a translation paper (each 3 hours). Candidates are expected to have considered the general topics as well as the particular texts and archaeological material specified. In the essay paper they will be required to answer a compulsory picture question, and three essay questions. A syllabus of images from which items will be selected for the picture question will be posted on WebLearn under "Texts and Contexts". In the translation paper candidates will be required to translate six passages, three Greek and three Latin, set from the texts listed under α for each topic.

Archaeological material: Houses, tombs, and the archaeology of public entertainment.

V. Philosophy Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Philosophy Special Subject, chosen from either Group A or Group B. Candidates may not combine a subject from Group B with a Classical Special Subject (VI) from Group E. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

A.

1.Early Greek Philosophy

Candidates will be expected to have studied:

(a) Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, and Anaxagoras; and any one of the following:

(b) Early Ionian Philosophy;

(c) Zeno;

(d) Early Atomism.

A general knowledge of pre-Socratic philosophy will also be expected. The subject shall be studied in Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, sixth or any later edition, edited by Kranz (Berlin, 1951 and later).

Where Diels-Kranz B-texts are prescribed, the prescription includes only what Diels-Kranz print in spaced type.

A compulsory question will contain passages for translation and comment from (a). A second compulsory question will contain passages for comment (not for translation). At least one passage will be taken from (a), and at least one from each of (b)–(d). Essay questions will also be set which will include questions on (a) and on each of (b)–(d).

2. Plato, Meno and Euthyphro

The paper will include questions on the philosophical topics discussed in the dialogues. Candidates will be expected to have read Meno in Greek and Euthyphro in English. There will be a compulsory question containing passages for translation and comment from Meno; any passages for comment from Euthyphro will be accompanied by a translation (to be taken from The Last Days of Socrates, tr. Tredennick & Tarrant (Penguin, revised 1993)).

B.

1.General Philosophy

As specified for section I of Introduction to Philosophy in the Preliminary Examination for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

2.Moral Philosophy

As specified for section II of Introduction to Philosophy in the Preliminary Examination for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

3.Introduction to Logic

As specified for section III of Introduction to Philosophy for the Preliminary Examination for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

VI. Classical Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Classical Special Subject, chosen from one of the groups C-F. Candidates must not combine a subject from Group E with a Philosophy Special Subject (V) from Group B. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

C.

1.Thucydides and the West

The prescribed text is Thucydides VI. Compulsory passages for translation and comment will be set from this book. Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with Thucydides VII and Plutarch, Nicias.

2.Aristophanes' Political Comedy

The prescribed plays are Knights, Wasps, and Lysistrata. Compulsory passages for translation and for comment will be set from Wasps and from Lysistrata 387-613 and 980-1220. Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with the ‘Old Oligarch’.

D.

1.Cicero and Catiline

The prescribed texts are: Sallust, Catiline; Cicero, In Catilinam I-IV, Pro Sulla; Asconius, In orationem in toga candida. Compulsory passages for translation and comment will be set from these.

2.Tacitus and Tiberius

The prescribed text is Tacitus, Annals I and III. Compulsory passages for translation and comment will be set from these books. Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with Annals II and IV-VI.

E.

1.Homeric Archaeology and Early Greece from 1550 bc to 700 bc

Evidence on the composition and history of the poems provided by extant archaeological remains, with special emphasis on burial practices, architecture, metals, and the world outside the Aegean. An overall knowledge will be required of the archaeological evidence for the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of the Aegean from 1550 bc to 700 bc . The examination will consist of one picture question and three essay questions.

2.Greek Vases

The study of the general history of Greek decorated pottery from c. 800 bc to c. 300 bc , including study of the Attic black-figure and red-figure styles and of South Italian Greek vase painting. Knowledge will be required of the techniques used in making Greek pottery and in drawing on vases, and also of the ancient names for vases and the shapes to which they refer. Candidates should in addition study the subjects of the paintings and their treatment by painters as compared with their treatment by writers and should be familiar with actual vases, for example those in the Ashmolean Museum. The examination will consist of one picture question and three essay questions.

3.Greek Sculpture, c. 600-300 bc

The major monuments of archaic and classical Greek sculpture—their context and purpose as well as their subjects, styles, and techniques. Candidates will be expected to have some knowledge of the external documentary evidence, such as literary and epigraphic texts, on which the framework of the subject depends, and to be acquainted with the major sculptures of the period represented in the Ashmolean Cast Gallery. The examination will consist of one picture question and three essay questions.

4.Roman Architecture

The subject comprises the study of Roman Architecture from the Republic to the Tetrarchy in Italy and in the provinces, with particular reference to form, materials, technology, and function, and the movement of both materials and ideas. The examination will consist of one picture question and three essay questions.

F.

1.Historical Linguistics and Comparative Philology

The subject includes an introduction to the methods and aims of historical and comparative linguistics, the reconstruction of the Indo-European protolanguage and its development into Latin and Greek. The questions set will require specific competence in one of the two classical languages but not necessarily in both. An opportunity will be given for (optional) commentary on Greek or Latin texts.

VII. Unprepared Translation from Greek

One paper (3 hours).

VIII. Unprepared Translation from Latin

One paper (3 hours).

IX. Greek Language

One paper (3 hours). The paper will be divided into two main sections.

Candidates are required to offer either (a) or (b):

(a) a selection of passages from D. A. Russell., An Anthology of Greek Prose (OUP, 1991), on which questions on accidence, syntax, and style will be set (for the prescribed passages see the Mods Handbook) AND a short passage for translation into Greek prose;

(b) a passage for translation into Greek prose.

X. Latin Language

One paper (3 hours). The paper will be divided into two main sections.

Candidates are required to offer either (a) or (b):

(a) a selection of passages from D. A Russell., An Anthology of Latin Prose (OUP, 1990), on which questions on accidence, syntax, and style will be set (for the prescribed passages see the Mods Handbook) AND a short passage for translation into Latin prose;

(a) passages for translation into Greek iambics and Latin elegiacs and hexameters, of which candidates will be required to translate one;

(b) passages for translation into English from each of the following ten books below, and a question on metre; candidates will be required to attempt either (i) three passages or (ii) two passages and the question on metre.

One paper (3 hours) of translation and questions. Compulsory passages for translation and commentary will be set from Iliad I, IX, XXII, XXIV. Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of the whole poem. They will also be required to scan a short passage.

II. Virgil, Aeneid [Course IA Paper II]

III, IV. Texts and Contexts

An essay paper and a translation paper (each 3 hours). Candidates are expected to have considered the general topics as well as the particular texts and archaeological material specified. In the essay paper they will be required to answer a compulsory picture question, and three essay questions. A syllabus of images from which items will be selected for the picture question will be posted on WebLearn under "Texts and Contexts". In the translation paper candidates will be required to translate six passages, three Greek and three Latin, set from the texts listed under α for each topic.

Archaeological material: Houses, tombs, and the archaeology of public entertainment.

V Philosophy Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Philosophy Special Subject chosen from either Group A or Group B. Candidates may not combine a subject from Group B with a Classical Special Subject (VI) from Group E. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

A.

1.Early Greek Philosophy

Candidates will be expected to have studied:

(a) Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, and Anaxagoras; and any one of the following:

(b) Early Ionian Philosophy;

(c) Zeno;

(d) Early Atomism.

A general knowledge of pre-Socratic philosophy will also be expected. The subject shall be studied in (i) Aristotle, Metaphysics A 1–8; (ii) G.S. Kirk, J.E. Raven, and M. Schofield, The Presocratic Philosophers (second edition, Cambridge, 1981); and (iii) a Faculty Supplement (available on WebLearn).

There will be a compulsory question containing passages for translation and comment from Aristotle, Metaphysics A 1–8. A second compulsory question will contain passages for comment (not for translation). At least one passage will be taken from (a), and at least one from each of (b)–(d); all the passages for this question will be accompanied by a translation (to be taken from Kirk, Raven, and Schofield (eds), and/or the Faculty Supplement). Essay questions will also be set which will include questions on (a) and on each of (b)–(d).

2. Plato, Euthyphro and Meno

The paper will include questions on the philosophical topics discussed in the dialogues. Candidates will be expected to have read Meno 70a-86d2 in Greek and the rest of Meno and Euthyphro in English. There will be a compulsory question containing passages for translation and comment from Meno; any passages for comment from Euthyphro and the other parts of Meno will be accompanied by a translation (to be taken from Euthyphro in The Last Days of Socrates, tr. Tredennick & Tarrant (Penguin, revised 1993) and Meno, tr. Sharples (Aris & Phillips)).

3. Lucretius, De Rerum Natura IV

There will be a compulsory question containing passages for translation and comment from the prescribed book.

The paper will also include questions on the philosophical topics examined in that book, together with some questions of a more general character on Epicurean philosophy as expressed in De Rerum Natura as a whole.

B.

1.General Philosophy [Course IA, paper V B(1)]

2.Moral Philosophy [Course IA, paper V B(2)]

3.Introduction to Logic [Course IA, paper V B(3)]

VI. Classical Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Classical Special Subject, chosen from one of the groups C–F. Candidates may not combine a subject from Group E with a Philosophy Special Subject (V) from Group B. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

C.

1.Thucydides and the West

The prescribed text is Thucydides VI. Compulsory passages for translation will be set only from chapters 1-61. Compulsory passages for comment will be set from the whole book; passages set from 62-105 will be accompanied by the English translation of M. Hammond (World's Classics, OUP, 2009). Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with Thucydides VII and Plutarch, Nicias.

2.Aristophanes' Political Comedy

The prescribed plays are Knights, Wasps, and Lysistrata. Compulsory passages for translation will be set from Wasps 1-728 and from Lysistrata 980-1220. Compulsory passages for commentary will be set from Wasps and from Lysistrata 387-613 and 980-1220; those from Wasps 729-1537 and Lysistrata 387-613 will be accompanied by the English translation of A.H. Sommerstein (Aris & Phillips). Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with the ‘Old Oligarch’.

One paper (3 hours). The paper will be divided into two main sections.

Candidates are required to offer either (a) or (b):

(a) a selection of passages from D. A Russell, An Anthology of Greek Prose (OUP, 1991), on which questions on accidence, syntax and style will be set (for the prescribed passages see the Mods Handbook) AND a short passage for translation into Greek prose;

One paper (3 hours) of translation and questions. Compulsory passages for translation and commentary will be set from Aeneid I, IV and VI. Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of the whole poem. They will also be required to scan a short passage.

III, IV. Texts and Contexts

An essay paper and a translation paper (each 3 hours). Candidates are expected to have considered the general topics as well as the particular texts and archaeological material specified. In the essay paper they will be required to answer a compulsory picture question, and three essay questions. A syllabus of images from which items will be selected for the picture question will be posted on WebLearn under 'Texts and Contexts'. In the translation paper candidates will be required to translate six passages, three Greek and three Latin, set from the texts listed under α for each topic.

Archaeological material: Houses, tombs, and the archaeology of public entertainment.

V. Philosophy Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Philosophy Special Subject, chosen from either Group A or Group B. Candidates may not combine a subject from Group B with a Classical Special Subject (VI) from Group E. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

A.

1.Early Greek Philosophy [Course IA, paper V A(1)]

2. Plato, Meno and Euthyphro [Course IA, paper V A(2)]

3. Lucretius, De Rerum Natura IV [Course IB, paper V A(3)]

B.

1.General Philosophy [Course IA, paper V B(1)]

2.Moral Philosophy [Course IA, paper V B(2)]

3.Introduction to Logic [Course IA, paper V B(3)]

VI. Classical Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Classical Special Subject, chosen from one of the groups C-F. Candidates may not combine a subject from Group E with a Philosophy Special Subject (V) from Group B. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

One paper (3 hours) of translation and questions. Compulsory passages for translation and commentary will be set from Aeneid I, II, IV, VI, and XII. Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of the whole poem. They will also be required to scan a short passage.

II, III. Texts and Contexts

An essay paper and a translation paper (each 3 hours). Candidates are expected to have considered the general topics as well as the particular texts and archaeological material specified. In the essay paper they will be required to answer a compulsory picture question, and three essay questions. A syllabus of images from which items will be selected for the picture question will be posted on WebLearn under 'Texts and Contexts'. In the translation paper candidates will be required to translate six passages, set from the Latin texts listed under α for topics 3 and 4.

There will be a compulsory question containing passages for comment from Aristotle, Metaphysics A 1–8. The passages will be given in translation (to be taken from J. Barnes (ed.), The Complete Works of Aristotle : The Revised Oxford Translation, Volume II (Princeton NJ, 1984). A second compulsory question will contain passages for comment. At least one passage will be taken from (a), and at least one from each of (b)–(d); all the passages for this question will be given in translation (to be taken from Kirk, Raven, and Schofield (eds), and/or the Faculty Supplement). Essay questions will also be set which will include questions on (a) and on each of (b)–(d).

3. Plato, Euthyphro and Meno

To be studied in The Last Days of Socrates, tr. Tredennick & Tarrant (Penguin, revised 1993) and Meno, tr. Sharples (Aris & Phillips). The paper will include questions on the philosophical topics discussed in the dialogues. There will be a compulsory question containing passages for comment.

4.General Philosophy [Course IA, paper V B(1)]

5.Moral Philosophy [Course IA, paper V B(2)]

6.Introduction to Logic [Course IA, paper V B(3)]

V. Classical Special Subject

All candidates must offer one Classical Special Subject, chosen from Group D, E, or F. One three-hour paper will be set in each subject.

D.

1.Cicero and Catiline

The prescribed texts, from which compulsory passages for comment will be set, are Sallust, Catiline; Cicero, In Catilinam I-IV, Pro Sulla; Asconius, In orationem in toga candida. Compulsory passages for translation will be set only from Sallust, Catiline and Cicero, In Catilinam IV. Passages for comment from Cicero, In Catilinam I-III and Pro Sulla will be accompanied by the English translation of C. Macdonald (Loeb, 1977) and from Asconius, In orationem in toga candida by the English translation of R.G. Lewis (ed.), Asconius: Commentaries on Speeches by Cicero (Oxford, 2006).

2.Tacitus and Tiberius

The prescribed text is Tacitus, Annals I and III. Compulsory passages for translation will be set only from Annals I. Compulsory passages for comment will be set from Annals I and III; passages set from Annals III will be accompanied by the English translation of A.J. Woodman, Tacitus Annals, (Indianapolis, Hackett, 2004). Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with Annals II and IV-VI.

One paper (3 hours). The paper will be divided into two main sections.

Candidates are required to offer either (a) or (b):

(a) a selection of passages from D. A Russell, An Anthology of Latin Prose (OUP, 1990), on which questions on accidence, syntax and style will be set (for the prescribed passages see the Mods Handbook) AND a short passage for translation into Latin prose;

One paper (3 hours) of translation and questions. Compulsory passages for translation and commentary will be set from Iliad I, VI, IX, XXII, XXIV. Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of the whole poem. They will also be required to scan a short passage.

II, III. Texts and Contexts

An essay paper and a translation paper (each 3 hours). Candidates are expected to have considered the general topics as well as the particular texts and archaeological material specified. In the essay paper they will be required to answer a compulsory picture question, and three essay questions. A syllabus of images from which items will be selected for the picture question will be posted on WebLearn under 'Texts and Contexts'. In the translation paper candidates will be required to translate six passages, set from the Greek texts listed under α for topics 1 and 2.

One paper (3 hours). The paper will be divided into two main sections.

Candidates are required to offer either (a) or (b):

(a) a selection of passages from D. A Russell, An Anthology of Greek Prose (OUP, 1991), on which questions on accidence, syntax and style will be set (for the prescribed passages see the Honour Moderations Handbook) AND a short passage for translation into Greek prose;

N.B. For prescribed editions in all forms of Classics Moderations, see Mods Handbook.]

[For students starting from MT 2015: Candidates shall take one of the following courses: IA, IB, IC, IIA, IIB.

Each paper will be assessed by means of a three-hour written examination. Texts and Contexts will comprise two papers, a three-hour essay paper and a three-hour translation paper.

The papers in General Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, and Introduction to Logic will be examined in accordance with the regulations for sections I, II and III respectively of Introduction to Philosophy in the Preliminary Examination for Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Detailed syllabuses for all other papers, including prescribed texts and editions where applicable, will be published in the Mods Handbook for the relevant year of examination. This will be published no later than Monday of Week 0 of Michaelmas Term in the academic year preceding that of the examination.

Any candidate whose native language is not English may bring a bilingual (native language to English) dictionary for use in any examination paper where candidates are required to translate Ancient Greek and/or Latin texts into English. [For students starting from MT 2016: and any examination paper involving Greek or Latin prose composition.]

COURSE IA

The examination will consist of the following papers.

I. HOMER, ILIAD

II. VIRGIL, AENEID

III, IV. TEXTS AND CONTEXTS

V. PHILOSOPHY SPECIAL SUBJECT

All candidates must offer one Philosophy Special Subject, chosen from either Group A or Group B. Candidates may not combine a subject from Group B with a Classical Special Subject (VI) from Group E.

A.

1. Early Greek Philosophy

2. Plato, Euthyphro and Meno

B.

1. General Philosophy

2. Moral Philosophy

3. Introduction to Logic

VI. CLASSICAL SPECIAL SUBJECT

All candidates must offer one Classical Special Subject, chosen from one of the groups C-F. Candidates must not combine a subject from Group E with a Philosophy Special Subject (V) from Group B.